Shloka 24
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
(शुक्लकर्मास्मि सर्वत्र न दुर्गतिभयं मम । धर्मचारी गृहस्थश्न॒ मामकान्तरमाविश: ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
śukla-karmāsmi sarvatra na durgati-bhayaṁ mama |
dharmacārī gṛhasthaś ca māmakāntaram āviśaḥ ||
ātma-vijñāna-sampannas tapasyī sarva-dharma-vit |
svāmī sarvasya rāṣṭrasya dhīmān mama purohitaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“无论何处，我皆以清净无瑕之行而行事，不惧堕入恶趣。我乃依达摩而住的居家者——你又怎能进入我内在深处？我族之祭司（purohita）睿智非常，具自知之明，勤修苦行，通达达摩所教一切义务；他宛如举国之导师与权威。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous, ‘pure’ action (śukla-karma) and faithful performance of one’s dharma—especially gṛhastha-dharma—remove the fear of moral and posthumous downfall (durgati). The verse also elevates self-knowledge and dharma-competence as the basis of true authority and guidance, embodied in the ideal purohita.
Bhishma speaks in a tone of moral self-assurance, declaring his purity of conduct and lack of fear of ‘durgati.’ He questions how an intruding presence could have entered his inner being, and then points to his own wise priest—endowed with self-knowledge, austerity, and mastery of dharma—as the rightful guiding authority for the realm.